Meet The Chicks
Grammy-winning trio ditch ‘Dixie’ from their band name
The Dixie Chicks have dropped Dixie from their name after a top U.S. journalist urged the trio to follow Lady Antebellum’s example and make a change.
In a Variety piece last week, writer Jeremy Helligar argued the band should rethink its name, explaining “it conjures a time and a place of bondage”.
“Dixie, for the record, is the epitome of white America, a celebration of a Southern tradition that is indivisible from Black slaves and those grand plantations where they were forced to toil for free,” Helligar wrote.
And Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer, and Martie Maguire have responded by agreeing to ditch Dixie.
The Chicks changed their website URL and their Instagram handle to reflect the new moniker on Thursday.
“We want to meet this moment,” a statement on the trio’s website reads, while in a press statement, the Goodbye
Earl hitmakers thanked New Zealand band The Chicks “for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name”.
“We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters. Chicks Rock!” the press release continues.
The move follows another country trio Lady Antebellum’s decision to become Lady A amid ongoing protests and conversations regarding the history of racism in the U.S.
The Need You Now hitmakers initially clashed with a Seattle, Washington-based blues singer named Lady A, but the matter has been resolved.
Lady Antebellum made the name change earlier this month, explaining the Antebellum moniker had too many links to the American Civil War and slavery, insisting:
“We are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the Civil War, which includes slavery.”
Meanwhile, the Grammywinning artists formerly known as the Dixie Chicks will be releasing Gaslighter, their first album in 14 years, on July 17.